Tom Osborne returns to his alma mater to address the class of 2009 and celebrate fifty years since he crossed the stage at Hastings College. The college’s 123rd Commencement exercises will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 16, in the Lynn Farrell Arena.

Osborne is athletic director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). In 2000, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District and served six years. For 25 years, Osborne was head football coach at UNL.

Osborne is among 26 other family members who graduated from, attended, taught, or served as trustees of Hastings College. He received the Bronco Award, the highest, non-academic honor the college bestows, in 1959. In 1985, Osborne received the Outstanding Alumni Award, and, in 1989, he was inducted in the Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame. He received a doctor of humane letters degree from Hastings College in 1995 and became a member of the college’s prestigious Pro Rege Society in 2000. He was named to the Board of Trustees in 2007.

Hastings College, founded in 1882, is a private, four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). A total of 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs are offered to more than 1150 students. The college was listed in the 2009 “Best in the Midwest” section of The Princeton Review’s website featuring 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region. The school was ranked among the “Best Liberal Arts Colleges” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, America’s Best Colleges 2009 and rated as a “Best Buy in College Education” in the respected college guide, Barron’s.